FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
On the morning of September 11, 2001, New Yorkers were getting ready to leave for the day when a hijacked plane deliberately crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers.
It was 08:46. Just 17 minutes later, another plane, also hijacked, crashed into the second tower.
The two 110-story tallest skyscrapers in New York were engulfed in flames as hundreds of emergency workers rushed to the towers to help those trapped inside.
The President of the United States in 2001, George W. Bush, was visiting a school in Florida when the attacks occurred. Speaking from there, he said that the event in New York appears to be "a terrorist attack against our country".
Just a few minutes after his statement, at 09:37, the third hijacked plane was deliberately crashed into one side of the Pentagon building, the US defense headquarters - near Washington.
A fourth plane, believed to have targeted the Congress building, also in Washington, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought off the hijackers.
In total, 2,977 people, not including the 19 hijackers, died in the attacks, while thousands more were injured.
The group responsible for the 9/11 attacks was identified as Al Qaeda, an extremist Islamic organization that planned the attacks from Afghanistan.
Led by Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda blamed America for many of the world's problems.
The group began its plan, known as the "air strike," in 1998.
By 2000, the attackers had entered the United States.
Nineteen people hijacked the planes. Each of the groups included a trained pilot. The training was done at flight schools in the USA.
US security officials knew the group was targeting the country, but did not know where or when.
The attacks caused international outrage and Bush declared a "war on terror".
In October 2001, America led the invasion of Afghanistan, which was joined by other countries.
At the time, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, who were allied with Al Qaeda.
The mission of the US, UK and other countries in Afghanistan was to destroy Al Qaeda, capture bin Laden and remove the Taliban from power.
America and its allies quickly removed the Taliban government from power, but it took them ten years to find and kill Osama bin Laden.
Military involvement in Afghanistan continued for years, becoming the longest war in American history.
In 2021, twenty years after the attacks of September 11, the last American troops left Afghanistan, until the Taliban took control of this country again.
How did things change after 9/11?
Aviation security increased and improved greatly in the years after 9/11.
Before September 11, children could enter the cockpit and meet him. But this was stopped after the attacks, while the cabin doors were secured and made bulletproof.
Security at airports around the world was also tightened.
After the September 11 attacks, the US and several other countries reported an increase in Islamophobia.
Today, 22 years later, on the site of the World Trade Center - or as it was otherwise known, the Twin Towers - stands only one building, known as the Freedom Tower./REL
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